The Idea of Non-Raw Fish Sushi

Dear Morimoto, I’ve watched you on Iron Chef America and you are one of my favorite chefs. The reason I’m saying this is because I’ve enjoyed Asian food since I was little and because I’ve known a friend who is Chinese. I have a question about sushi. I made sushi just a few days ago and it went well but I just used vegetables because I have 2 sisters and a mom who are what you can say are “picky’ when it comes to raw fish. Could you please give some more ideas on ingredients I can use besides carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and cream cheese? Thank you.

First, I want to say thank you very much for your compliment!

Also thank you for sending me a good question. I think many people wonder if there are some ideas of non-raw fish sushi.

If you are not a vegetarian, you can also use a slice of seared beef, poached shrimp and can of tuna with mayonnaise. If you add some spice like tabasco, black pepper, or Kochujan (Korean hot pepper paste) to tuna & mayonnaise, it will be spicy tuna and perfect for a roll sushi.

For vegetarians, I recommend pickled vegetables. I use pickled vegetable as sushi toppings at my restaurants, too. Kimchee (Korean spicy pickled vegetables) and scallions are good, too. You can also try various kinds of mushrooms. Cut any kinds of mushroom into bite size, and sauté with butter or olive/sesame oil, add salt and pepper to taste. They are delicious and healthy! You may also want to see my Vegetable Sushi Recipe made with cucumber, avocado, plum tomato, romaine lettuce, red onion and asparagus.